Repertory Theatre in the 70s.

Salisbury Playhouse Rep' Company

Text and photographs ©John Walmsley, 1973. All rights reserved.

In 1973, I lived and worked with the Playhouse Theatre Company in Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK. They had given me permission to photograph what they do, how they work, what it’s like to be an actor and, basically, all the things needed to put on play. So, for 3 weeks, I followed their production of ‘Mother Courage’ from first read-through to first night, all the rehearsals, the blocking, the music, costumes and the props, the biggest of which for this play, was a full-sized wagon. Where do you get one of those when you need one?

The designer working on a model of the set at home.

The theatre building was old and crumbling (not allowed to run the hot water during a performance!) and would be replaced in a few years with a state of the art version. But, for now, we all had to make do with what we had.

First read-through on the stage in front of the set for the current play. At The Playhouse, it was a three week rep’, meaning the company would learn and rehearse the next play for three weeks during the days and perform the current play in the evenings. It was hard work.

Rehearsals were in a church hall down the road which was big enough to mark out the scenery positions so actors had a true sense of scale when moving about. Until it was ready, the wagon was represented by tables and chairs.

Stress was ever present but the actors were used to dealing with it. They even managed to deal with having a photographer. me, around all the time.

With luck, they had one day off a week to shop, do the laundry in the local laundrette, and relax. Jill Baker here, being pretty proficient at rowing. At least, we both survived. Some had a day trip home to see their own families but that was rare as it stretched their family budgets.

Theatrical ‘Digs’, where actors stayed when away from home, were basic but did provide somewhere quiet to learn lines.

When the workshop had finished the wagon, it was rolled down to the rehearsal room passed a traffic warden (enforcement officer). No ticket was issued but she was a bit surprised.

On the tech side, everything was so basic compared to today. Rows of switches which needed to be manned. Not a computer in sight. When a followspot was needed, a person had to stand next to it and operate it. Sound was on reel to reel tape decks.

It all came together, of course, for the dress rehearsal on the afternoon immediately before the first performance.

All big towns and cities in the 70s had their own rep’ theatres. People would come regulary and got to know the actors quite well as everyone went to the same pub afterwards. This slowly changed as television developed and soon took over as the main source of entertainment. Then, government reduced the grants and theatres closed.

In six weeks, I covered 3 plays in the main theatre and the touring company going into schools and universities. For young actors, this wide experience gave them a firm foundation as they knew they could do anything.

All this material should be a book. As far as I know, no-one else has such a wide range of photos showing what life was like back then in the theatre. In trying to put a book together, my co-author, Jenny Ellis (who had played Mother Courage) and I have received a foreword from Dame Maggie Smith and contributions from Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen and Timothy West, saying they would not be where they are today had it not been for rep’.

All texts and photographs are ©John Walmsley, 1973. All rights reserved.

John Walmsley’s Linktree.

John Walmsley is a member of the National Union of Journalists and the Society of Authors. His work, in one form or another, is at the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain Library, the National Art Library at the V&A, the V&A Museum of Childhood, Liverpool Museum, la Bibliothèque nationale de France and the University of California, San Diego, Library. 

With a wide range of other artists, he has recently taken part in group exhibitions in Sydney, NYC, Los Angeles, Arizona, Texas, Tbilisi, Sao Paolo, London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, France, Bangkok, Rome, Glasgow and Guildford.